Japanese defense minister visits notorious Yasukuni Shrine on WWII surrender anniversary

TOKYO - Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, the anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II, public broadcaster NHK reported.

It marked the first visit by an incumbent Japanese defense minister to Yasukuni Shrine on the anniversary of the end of WW II since then Defense Minister Minoru Kihara visited the shrine on the same occasion in 2024.

Several senior lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party likewise paid visits to the controversial shrine on the day, the report said.

Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, honors 14 convicted Japanese Class-A war criminals from World War II. It has long been a source of diplomatic friction between Japan and its neighbors.

For a long time, visits and ritual offerings made by Japanese officials to the controversial shrine have consistently sparked criticism and opposition both at home and abroad, hurting the feelings of the people of China, South Korea, and other countries and regions victimized by Japan's wartime aggression.